UPDATE 10/21/14
Ronny is slow.
Very slow.
And that probably won't change until college shit lets up.
But Ronny loves all of you.
Very much.
Have a nice night.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Not Dead
UPDATE 10/21/14
Ronny is slow.
Very slow.
And that probably won't change until college shit lets up.
But Ronny loves all of you.
Very much.
Have a nice night.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
New Control & Mechanics
I've been toying with the engine, trying to polish it up for a better experience. EchoJerichoX, the developer of Metroid Coven, released a Let's Play of the 2013 demo not too long ago. He says to expect more, so definitely check him out!
In the video and some discussions he did bring up 2 things which have had my focus:
-The wall jump is a series staple and almost essential to glitchless sequence breaking.
At first I was reluctant to add one, because I wanted to go the easy way and develop the map without worrying about walljumping. Well, sequence breaking is something that I simply adore, and by now I've come to realize that I'd hate to take away the Metroid- luxury. So I've added a very versatile walljump, as hastily shown in this little demonstration video:
1-wall walljumping IS possible. With that, happy sequence breaking!
Now for the other thing Echo brought up, sort of:
-You have no reason to switch back to the power beam, you'll always stay on the strongest beam.
This is something that I've avoided from the beginning, but if I'm gonna have active switching, I should make you actually want/need to switch beams.
Here's the new power beam. It has the fastest firing rate and deals enough of a physical blow to move certain solids around.
The ice beam is treated the same way it has in the past: Slowest firing rate, but freezes enemies. As a balance, it is now as weak, and sometimes weaker, than the power beam. It already freezes things, we don't need it destroying the entire planet. ;p
The wave beam has had the biggest overhaul since the demo it was in. It covers a smaller height than before, and has a reduced firing rate. It also does electrical damage, which becomes significant with the more robotic enemies. (I'm still experimenting with how it looks, this single sine curve is most likely not final.)
And here we have the plasma beam. This pierces through enemies and can destroy the limbs of enemies that are capable of losing them. It has the same firing rate as the power beam, but only 1 shot can be on screen. (Also take a look at the new gravity suit, I wanted each suit to have some sort of difference besides coloration)
Now, there are 1 or 2 more new beams, but I'm not gonna spoil that for you guys. With these new control/mechanical changes, the current game is easily exploitable. I was going to do a simple overhaul, but I'm actually going to start a MAJOR revision to the game's world. Looking at it, I realized that it is very linear, and some areas are very small.
This is one of the now outdated maps. With the new mechanics, and especially new bosses, more room is needed. This game is going to be much bigger and more eventful that I had planned in the beginning. I hope this is a turn for the good of the project.
In the video and some discussions he did bring up 2 things which have had my focus:
-The wall jump is a series staple and almost essential to glitchless sequence breaking.
At first I was reluctant to add one, because I wanted to go the easy way and develop the map without worrying about walljumping. Well, sequence breaking is something that I simply adore, and by now I've come to realize that I'd hate to take away the Metroid- luxury. So I've added a very versatile walljump, as hastily shown in this little demonstration video:
1-wall walljumping IS possible. With that, happy sequence breaking!
Now for the other thing Echo brought up, sort of:
-You have no reason to switch back to the power beam, you'll always stay on the strongest beam.
This is something that I've avoided from the beginning, but if I'm gonna have active switching, I should make you actually want/need to switch beams.
Here's the new power beam. It has the fastest firing rate and deals enough of a physical blow to move certain solids around.
The ice beam is treated the same way it has in the past: Slowest firing rate, but freezes enemies. As a balance, it is now as weak, and sometimes weaker, than the power beam. It already freezes things, we don't need it destroying the entire planet. ;p
The wave beam has had the biggest overhaul since the demo it was in. It covers a smaller height than before, and has a reduced firing rate. It also does electrical damage, which becomes significant with the more robotic enemies. (I'm still experimenting with how it looks, this single sine curve is most likely not final.)
And here we have the plasma beam. This pierces through enemies and can destroy the limbs of enemies that are capable of losing them. It has the same firing rate as the power beam, but only 1 shot can be on screen. (Also take a look at the new gravity suit, I wanted each suit to have some sort of difference besides coloration)
Now, there are 1 or 2 more new beams, but I'm not gonna spoil that for you guys. With these new control/mechanical changes, the current game is easily exploitable. I was going to do a simple overhaul, but I'm actually going to start a MAJOR revision to the game's world. Looking at it, I realized that it is very linear, and some areas are very small.
This is one of the now outdated maps. With the new mechanics, and especially new bosses, more room is needed. This game is going to be much bigger and more eventful that I had planned in the beginning. I hope this is a turn for the good of the project.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
End of 2013!
I hope y'all are enjoying your breaks and stuff.
Here's a few updates:
-If you didn't notice, the game has newer, cleaner sound effects. I've been aiming to replace all reused sound effects and I am almost done. For those of you that found the wave beam's sound annoying, I've changed that too.
-The game's first major boss has been finished, coding wise. Once he undergoes a graphical revision, I will work on mapping his hideout.
-Several new, much more intelligent, more interesting enemies have been coded. Graphically, they're blobs and bricks. I hope to get them looking better soon.
-SPACE PIRATES ARE INTELLIGENT! Prior to now they would just patrol and occasionally fire at random. I know this seems minor, but its a landmark for me in developing AI. Once they notice you, they actually bother to stalk you, shoot at you, jump, and face you when they shoot. Long story short, the brainless pirates in the demo are no more.
-I'm currently redoing the HUD to be much more accessible and less intrusive. It was pointed out the me in the demo that the egg meter (the charge coil icon in the final game) obscures doors that go upwards. That's my main focus in redoing the HUD. I'm also trying to get a minimap in there, though my main focus is just the necessities, so this may be pushed for later.
With those said, I also want to say that I'm also starting a little Metroid related side project. I've been trying to stop myself from doing this, as I thought it would slow the development of this game. Truth is, the time I spent wishing I could have a side project is time I spend not working on this. Don't worry, however, this game is still my main priority.
Happy Holidays!
Here's a few updates:
-If you didn't notice, the game has newer, cleaner sound effects. I've been aiming to replace all reused sound effects and I am almost done. For those of you that found the wave beam's sound annoying, I've changed that too.
-The game's first major boss has been finished, coding wise. Once he undergoes a graphical revision, I will work on mapping his hideout.
-Several new, much more intelligent, more interesting enemies have been coded. Graphically, they're blobs and bricks. I hope to get them looking better soon.
-SPACE PIRATES ARE INTELLIGENT! Prior to now they would just patrol and occasionally fire at random. I know this seems minor, but its a landmark for me in developing AI. Once they notice you, they actually bother to stalk you, shoot at you, jump, and face you when they shoot. Long story short, the brainless pirates in the demo are no more.
-I'm currently redoing the HUD to be much more accessible and less intrusive. It was pointed out the me in the demo that the egg meter (the charge coil icon in the final game) obscures doors that go upwards. That's my main focus in redoing the HUD. I'm also trying to get a minimap in there, though my main focus is just the necessities, so this may be pushed for later.
With those said, I also want to say that I'm also starting a little Metroid related side project. I've been trying to stop myself from doing this, as I thought it would slow the development of this game. Truth is, the time I spent wishing I could have a side project is time I spend not working on this. Don't worry, however, this game is still my main priority.
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A Change of Pace
As established somewhat before, I need to face the fact that free time is extremely limited in my current situation. To not go insane I can't spend all that time game developing. So I wait and rely on the short bursts of creativity I have to work on the game. I've been trying to get as many small ideas working in the game as possible, so the outcome isn't super cliche or boring...
I've began working on areas in chunks so that way I can jump around the world map. Creating the game in chronological order gets boring, especially since you have to focus on one area for awhile. By working ahead I also get an excuse to make a kickass ultra powerful debug menu that future testers will get to use.
Of course, temporary graphics (Ugh, that background) are still EVERYWHERE. I'll be leaving those as a last priority, so expect future gamedev screenshots to be ugly, depending on the area and point of the game they take place.
NCFC!
Last year at NCFC, you guys got a demo. That demo is a mess and doesn't have certain IMPORTANT changes in the game's engine and design. I wonder what I'll be showing this year... Check out their website once the convention begins to find out! Also, I've put the new trailer at the top of this post.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Stalled
I'm going on vacation till July 5th who knows whats a vacation I'm just gonna be busy as hell till whenever, in which I will make little to no progress. I'm sorry about so much progress being stalled, but I really need a break from everything. Thank you for your understanding.
EDIT (10/2)
I know it's been a long time. Sickness, large workloads, personal life, and other such useless excuses have stalled me. But the project's not dead, just slow paced. Just always keep in mind it's one guy doing a whole game, regardless of how simple it seems. I'm not going to BS or fake updates for you either. I'm sorry to test your patience... I wish I had more control on how time was going by.
EDIT (10/2)
I know it's been a long time. Sickness, large workloads, personal life, and other such useless excuses have stalled me. But the project's not dead, just slow paced. Just always keep in mind it's one guy doing a whole game, regardless of how simple it seems. I'm not going to BS or fake updates for you either. I'm sorry to test your patience... I wish I had more control on how time was going by.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Back! With a Teaser!
First thing's first: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in nearly 2 months. State testing and finals really got the most of me, I didn't have any time to spare. However, in the last few days, I've made some quite significant changes to the game engine, but sadly, not much to the actual level design.
Consistent Tiling
I redid all of the tilesets in the game. Why is that significant? Because I've always had trouble with the concept of consistent graphics. Everything looked mixed together. So I've put a lot of effort into making sure that everything matches the same basic sprite style.
No more Fusion-looking tiles.
New Sound Engine
This applies to the music. The game now runs on the Caster sound engine. With this, I have more control over the music and sound formats I can use. This way, I can use OGG Vorbis files. With that, I can provide a version of the game with less bulky sound files, making the download and load times shorter. Now this really sacrifices sound quality, so high quality will still be an option.
Redone Enemies
Aside from weak points, enemies now do more themselves! Some breath fire in addition to their climbing, some self destruct to prevent you from reaching certain areas. It's all part of making things more challenging, but in a fair way. Also, most of the reused enemies (Geemers, sidehoppers, desgeegas, gullugs, etc.) are being redesigned or have already been.
What are those things?
Well, that's really all I've been able to get done. I promise more in the coming months. Until then, enjoy the new trailer!
Have You Read This Far?
If you do, I appreciate it. I am not the best pixel artist. I'm looking for someone who would be willing to assist me in spriting enemies and bosses for the game, and making everything look more put together and nicer overall. If you think you can help, please let me know. You can contact me at iamnotalizard(@)aim.com
Consistent Tiling
I redid all of the tilesets in the game. Why is that significant? Because I've always had trouble with the concept of consistent graphics. Everything looked mixed together. So I've put a lot of effort into making sure that everything matches the same basic sprite style.
No more Fusion-looking tiles.
New Sound Engine
This applies to the music. The game now runs on the Caster sound engine. With this, I have more control over the music and sound formats I can use. This way, I can use OGG Vorbis files. With that, I can provide a version of the game with less bulky sound files, making the download and load times shorter. Now this really sacrifices sound quality, so high quality will still be an option.
Redone Enemies
Aside from weak points, enemies now do more themselves! Some breath fire in addition to their climbing, some self destruct to prevent you from reaching certain areas. It's all part of making things more challenging, but in a fair way. Also, most of the reused enemies (Geemers, sidehoppers, desgeegas, gullugs, etc.) are being redesigned or have already been.
What are those things?
Well, that's really all I've been able to get done. I promise more in the coming months. Until then, enjoy the new trailer!
Have You Read This Far?
If you do, I appreciate it. I am not the best pixel artist. I'm looking for someone who would be willing to assist me in spriting enemies and bosses for the game, and making everything look more put together and nicer overall. If you think you can help, please let me know. You can contact me at iamnotalizard(@)aim.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)